Social Studies

Learn about the great distances water travels in order to enter the Berkeley Springs, West Virginia International Water Tasting competition, the qualities judges are looking for in the winning entries, and the impact winning can have on the entrants.

Learn about the evolution and design of the National Mall from its inception and explore the early considerations made by its designer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant. The design of the capitol city involved converting tidal flats, forests, and farmland into the major landmarks we see today. L’Enfant placed major landmarks on high points, placing the Capitol Building on the highest spot. Other design elements included a space for the President's house, the Washington Monument, and a grand promenade, lined with buildings and a broad canal, better known today as our National Mall.

Learn how Bill Patrie, a North Dakota economic developer, looks for an anchor or signature building which personifies a community, has structural integrity, and is located in a town where residents believe in the future.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

THE CASE: 1941, Manhattan bustles, and New York City’s newest subway line – the "A" train – is moving people in more ways than one. A new instrumental "Take the 'A' Train," rolls up the charts and will become the signature song of pianist Edward Kennedy Ellington. The song, written by Billy Strayhorn, will bring financial success to a pioneering music publishing venture, owned by Duke Ellington. More than half a century later, Garfield Gillings, of Brooklyn, New York, has made a discovery, boxes of sheet music in a dumpster. Among the paper scores are metal sheets that look like printing plates for “Take the 'A' Train." History Detectives sets out to find the story behind these plates and to determine the role they played in this jazz classic.

The closing of the former San Haven Tuberculosis Sanitarium in 1989 resulted in the loss of 400+ jobs. While efforts to rehab that beautiful building failed, it did result in attracting other businesses to replace the jobs in Dunseith, Rolla and Rolette.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

Trying to create an inviting downtown that draws residents and tourists alike, developers, including The Marcil Group, have led the way in rehabbing downtown buildings in Jamestown for a variety of uses. The Franklin School is a prime example of preserving an historic landmark building.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

A large commercial building in Crosby, used primarily as a retail store, has been renovated for use as apartments, a hotel room, coffee shop, and other business space with minimal expense.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

Like many cities, Grand Forks had seen a decline in activity and economic development in its downtown area during the 1960s and 1970s which was escalated by the devastating flood of 1997. Federal assistance and local restoration projects have revitalized the area by rehabilitating the buildings that could be saved.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

Many rural communities are struggling to preserve their downtowns, their economy and their identity, which can be helped by revitalizing historical buildings.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

To help the community of Bowman survive, keep business at home, and provide jobs, the town has morphed a grocery store into the library and a lumberyard into a museum.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

THE CASE: History Detectives investigates the mystery behind an unusual Navajo rug. We meet with a Navajo medicine man and a traditional Navajo weaver, and then travel to Crownpoint, New Mexico, long considered the center of Navajo weaving to discover if a weaver violated a taboo to create this rug. Finally, History Detectives visits a textile historian to find out who may have been behind this controversial design.

Hear how the Hillsboro Community Partnership has led the rehabilitation of two significant buildings on the central downtown corner of Main Street and Caledonia Avenue.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

Looking at the shallow twists and turns of the Red River, it's hard to imagine that steam-powered paddlewheel boats were once the most important transportation link between St. Paul and Winnipeg. This original song by Minnesota musician Elsia Korenne tells the tale of willpower and cut-throat competition that brought steamboats to the Red and made them work.

Watch how the community of Lisbon is enhancing its downtown by rehabilitating the Lisbon Opera House with the help of a theater group, the “No Name Players.”

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”

Learn how the Marcil Group focuses on projects in small towns, redeveloping historical buildings for new housing primarily.

For decades, “downtown” was the hub of the economic and social lives of rural residents across North Dakota. But today, these same downtowns are struggling to maintain their vitality. Seeking to reverse years of decline, visionaries are taking steps to revitalize their communities by rehabilitating old buildings and putting them to new uses, helping small towns preserve their identity and quality of life. Old To New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize showcases some of the new ideas being implemented today and their implications for community leaders. As one rehab leader said, “Nothing’s ever going to be 200 years old, if you don’t let it get to be 100 years old.”